Hong Xin
A double chimeric peptide vaccine, targeting two peptides (Fba and Met6) expressed on the cell surface of Candida albicans, can induce high degree of protection against disseminated candidiasis in mice. Although immunization with each individual peptide vaccine was effective in protection against the disease, immunization with the double chimeric peptide vaccine, not two- peptide mixture, induced better protective immunity than that induced by each individual peptide vaccine. Passive transfer of immune sera from peptide immunized mice demonstrated that the protection was medicated by peptide-specific antibodies. Furthermore, we combined two protective MAbs, including Fba peptide specific IgM E2-9 and Met6 peptide specific IgG3 M2-4, into one cocktail and evaluated it for protective efficacy, side by side with each protective MAb given alone. Survival data indicate that while the use of individual MAb is promising as a single prophylactic component, combination of two MAbs manifested the best protective efficacies. Our work demonstrates the novel utility of cell wall peptides together in vaccines designed for induction of greater protective immunity against disseminated candidiasis. We also show the combination of monoclonal antibodies is a more efficient immuneprotective approach against the disease as compared to single MAb treatment.